DELAND, Fla. - Top-seed FGCU (14-8) and three-seed North Florida (14-11) slugged it out in the ASUN Men's Tennis Championship final Sunday, meeting in the finals for the first time since 2015.

The Ospreys looked poised to get back at that loss in 2015 after establishing a 2-0 lead, but FGCU rallied back in singles play to take the conference crown, 4-2, at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center on the campus of Stetson University April 21.

Doubles ended in a flurry, with all three matches finishing within five minutes of one another. FGCU's Felipe Escobar and Mateo Ruiz won at the first slot, but UNF would clinch the opening point by taking second and third doubles.

Jorge Nunez and Federico Nani slipped ahead to a 4-3 lead and rode it out with a 6-4 triumph to even doubles. Dominik Barton and Till Von Winning clinched it in the same fashion, creating a 4-3 upperhand before serving it out, 6-4.

Sahil Deshmukh kept his mojo going after yesterday's semifinal thriller, putting UNF ahead 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-4, triumph against Juan Montes. FGCU got on the board at second singles as Felipe Ramirez won in straight sets against Barton, 6-4, 6-3. The Eagles evened things up at six singles, resting the fate of the match on a trio of three-set decisions between three, four and five singles.

FGCU got on top at three singles. After Von Winning took the opening set, Felipe Escobar rallied to win 6-1, 6-1, putting the Eagles ahead, 3-2.

Attention turned to Nilo Duarte at court four and Jorge Nunez at the five slot. Nunez raced to a 6-1 win in the first set, but Feliksas Sakalauskas turned around a 5-4 deficit to even the match with a 7-5 second-set win.

Almost simultaneously Duarte reversed a 6-3 defeat in the first set, winning 6-4 to force a third against Marcelo Tebet. The sophomore rallied from down 5-3, tying it at 5-5, but Tebet was able to stave off Duarte and clinch the match with a 7-5 decision in the third set.

The match between Nunez and Sakalauskas was left unfinished with Nunez leading the third set, 5-3.

Notes

• Deshmukh was named to the 2019 ASUN All-Tournament Team.
• This was UNF's eighth trip to the ASUN Championship title match.
• This is the second time UNF has been the three-seed, the last being in 2010 when the championship was held in DeLand.
• UNF had never made the title as the three-seed.
• Either UNF or FGCU has won the title each of the last five seasons.
• Deshmukh and Barton finished tied for a team-high 21 singles victories. Deshmukh finished with a 13-6 record at the one slot.

 
Singles Competition
1. Sahil Deshmukh (UNF) def. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
2. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Dominik Barton (UNF) 6-4, 6-3
3. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) def. Till Von Winning (UNF) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. TEBET, Marcelo (FGCU) def. Nilo Duarte (UNF) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
5. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) vs. Jorge Nunez (UNF) 1-6, 7-5, 3-5, unfinished
6. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Federico Nani (UNF) 6-3, 6-4
 
Doubles Competition
1. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) def. Nilo Duarte/Sahil Deshmukh (UNF) 6-4
2. Jorge Nunez/Federico Nani (UNF) def. TEBET, Marcelo/MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-4
3. Dominik Barton/Till Von Winning (UNF) def. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) 6-4

Match Notes
North Florida 14-11
FGCU 14-8
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,2,6,3,4)
ASUN Men's Tennis Championship Final